Chapter 13

Qi Mu had noticed Wu Lao when the old man shouted “Bravo.”

In addition to the wealthy, the second-floor boxes were also filled with professionals of the music industry, and Wu Lao was one of the best. Wu Sheng Tao was an honorary professor of the S City Symphony Orchestra. He had written many symphonies, and several of his masterpieces were also well-known overseas.

Such a respectable person stood in front of him, even Qi Mu was surprised. Tan Zheng Hui called him over, so Qi Mu went over and greeted the two elders then stood at the side silently.

“Wu Lao, we haven’t seen each other for a long time.” After Tan Zheng Hui called him over, he seemed to forget about Qi Mu and didn’t say anything else to him. But, as if he had just remembered Qi Mu, he said to Wu Lao, “You also haven’t seen Xiao Qi for a long time, haven’t you?”

Wu Sheng Tao actually saw Qi Mu the moment he arrived backstage, but he had silently watched him. Now he looked Qi Mu up and down with no particular expression and said in a light tone, “Yes, it’s been a long time since I last saw him.”

Yet again, Qi Mu didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

Naturally, he knew why Wu Lao acted this way toward him.

Wu Sheng Tao became famous when he was young so where would you find a rebellious young child who would dare to scold him in public? When the original wanted to sell the violin, among the seniors, Wu Lao was the one who most strongly opposed it. At the time, the original cursed the elder for a long time and even made scathing and sarcastic remarks whenever they met face-to-face.

If the original hadn’t offended so many people in S City, he wouldn’t have left behind the vast family network there and moved to B city.

Qi Mu thought for a moment then respectfully said, “Wu Lao, long time no see. Are you doing well?” His tone was not overbearingly humble but instead calm and courteous.

Wu Lao gave a quiet “Hmm,” but didn’t answer. Qi Mu tried to think of words to say, but just when he thought he was going to leave, Wu Lao suddenly snorted, “Tan Lao and I are going to meet a few old friends tonight. . . You come too.”

Qi Mu was just about to step forward, and suddenly hearing this, he stopped to look at Wu Lao in surprise. He saw the old man was still smiling coldly, but the frost in his eyes had melted tremendously. Wu Lao then sighed, “I saw your performance today. If you continue at your current pace, sooner or later. . . ’Edith’ will be yours. But Qi Mu, if you ever try to sell it again, even with these old bones, I will stop you.”

Qi Mu solemnly promised.

Before long, Wu Lao left the area with a young man’s help. Qi Mu watched his figure fade away, and he heard a sigh, “I see your mother as my own daughter. And Wu Lao. . . He treated your father like his own. His son died young, so there’s no following generation in his family. You really made him sad that year.”

Qi Mu immediately turned to look at Tan Lao. Under the bright lights, he could see strands of white in his black hair. It reflected the silver light, stinging his eyes.

“Wu Lao doesn’t have much time left. If you hadn’t grown out of that phase and stayed the way you were, I’m afraid Wu Lao would enter his coffin with remorse and regret.”

Listening to the heart-wrenching words made his heartache. But he knew, the original did not care about these old people, according to his memory. Or rather. . . The original’s impression of Wu Lao was as the one who kept blocking him from selling the violin. He wanted to get back to the top, but he never wanted anything to do with these elders.

Qi Mu eyes dropped to the floor, and his long eyelashes cast a pale shadow on his cheeks. He then whispered, “I know, Tan Lao.”

Hearing Qi Mu’s words, Tan Lao turned to look at him and said, “You did well today and was even praised by Wu Lao. You could go solo in Huaxia, but you didn’t want to go to Munich the other day. What’s the matter?”

He didn’t expect Tan Lao to suddenly throw this question out, so he froze slightly. He said, “Tan Lao, my age hasn’t reached that point yet and. . . I still have a lot of room for growth in Huaxia.”

Tan Lao never expected to hear the real answer from Qi Mu, so he didn’t ask anything else. He said something like “Remember the dinner tonight” and left Qi Mu to celebrate the success of the show with the other members of the orchestra.

When he went to the so-called “gathering of old friends” that evening, Qi Mu looked at the smiling seniors and realized why his eyelid had been twitching since this morning.

“Xiao Qi, ah, why don’t you give a toast? Do I need to teach you how?” As the conductor of the orchestra, Tan Zheng Hui stood up like the elder he was to guide Qi Mu on how to prepare a toast.

On the other side, a woman covered the smile on her lips and said, “Xiao Qi has not seen us for a long time, so I’m delighted today. There’s no need for wine, but tell us about the transition in the second movement of Dvorak’s 《Symphony No. 6》 today. It was handled well.”

Another tough-looking man laid down his cup and looked at the woman, “Cheng Ting Wen, how did a woman like you come to like Dvorak? Isn’t Mendelssohn your preference? Xiao Qi, tell me what do you think of Du Sheng’s 《E Minor》?”

Another person on the table was not happy at first, “Hey, Zhu Guang, look at people before you speak. I’m still here, and you want Xiao Qi to evaluate me?” This man was Du Sheng, the concertmaster of B City Symphony Orchestra. He then smiled with feigned anger, “It seems like your S City Symphony Orchestra wants to play?”

. . .

As previously stated, Qi Mu had experienced all kinds of human behavior since he was a child. And he knew that if he wanted to survive in Europe with his family background, he had to be smooth and know how to make decisions.

But that didn’t mean he could face such a troop of old fritters!

Throughout the night, Qi Mu felt like he had drained away half his lifetime and now knew deeply——

The drinking manner in Huaxia!

On the third day, when the plane was ready to go to H City for a performance, Qi Mu rushed to the airport without looking back. He was afraid of the so-called “chanced encounter” with those seniors.

During these short three days, they examined him within an inch of his life.

The better tempered and tactful elders used the excuse of exchange in guidance to test his skill level and to see if he was really “turning over a new leaf.” While the worse tempered, straightforward and blunt ones directly pulled him, to see if he had really changed or was just pretending, and they finally left him with one or two ambitious goals. For example. . .

“Oh, Xiao Qi, when you stand on the stage in Vienna, your uncle will send a truck full of flowers.” Zhu Guang, the concertmaster of S City Symphony Orchestra, said this with a grin that revealed his white teeth. He didn’t know, that in a year or two, he would be held responsible for saying it.

Escaping from the wolf nest of S City, Qi Mu was finally comfortable. He stepped from the plane and landed in H City, finally feeling the warmth of a loved one; there were no terrible elders, everything was okay! Even the air felt fresh!

However. . .

Xiao Qi, ah, was it really that simple?

The shadows of his seniors could be found from north to south, over the great mountains, and all the great rivers of our motherland!

Meanwhile, it was a sunny afternoon in Berlin.

The Mediterranean climate kept Europe humid in the late autumn, and the temperature was a little cooler than in Huaxia. When the members of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra flew in from Singapore to Berlin, they were all excited and not even a bit tired.

Some of them carried a violin case, some of them were empty-handed. They created a beautiful scenery from afar.

Someone once said that whenever the Olympics and the World Championships were held, watching the German athletes was a particular appreciation of beauty. The men were blond and handsome while the women were beautiful and distinguished with cold temperaments. Even if they were old, they had a unique gentleman’s demeanor, making people feel pleasant.

So, as they walked together at the airport, many tourists cast their gaze at this group of people. Some who recognized them happily asked for autographs.

At the end of the group, a tall and handsome, black-haired individual walked alone.

Putting his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, he strolled along the floor-to-ceiling windows. He appeared calm and indifferent, and no one knew what he was thinking.

But after a moment, a blond man carrying two suitcases came running and panted, “Min, where’s your assistant? Is that Mary woman gone again?! She agreed to pick up the luggage, but I didn’t even see her when I went to pick up the bags!”

Min Chen looked at Daniel, “You’re walking too fast, she’s chasing after you.”

“. . .”

Daniel, dragging two 32-inch suitcases, felt like a dog. Suddenly being told that he was walking so fast the assistant couldn’t catch up with him, he wanted to see God.

When everyone got the cars together, the man with a cold expression leaned back against the back seat soft cushion and closed his eyes.

The car started moving slowly, and Daniel flipped open his tablet, “Min, after tomorrow night’s show, we’ll be flying to B City the day after. Isn’t this schedule too packed? Although the members are in good shape, we only have three weeks to do six shows.”

Min Chen was too lazy to open his eyes and just slightly opened his mouth, “You can ask if they want to have a holiday together after the show or if they want a rest now.”

“Holiday together!” Mary, who was driving, immediately answered.

Daniel said strangely, “This. . . It’s hard to say. I think holidays are important but rest is also important, Min.”

Hearing Daniel’s hesitation, he opened his eyes and looked Daniel up and down. He suddenly asked, “Well, you can rest while we’re working and take overtime when we’re on holiday?”

“I want the holiday!!!”

Min Chen had to purse his lips to hide his laughter.

In the passenger’s seat, the golden-haired manager turned around and whispered, “Why are you in such a hurry to get to B City? It’s not like you’ve never been there. Why do you want to go back to Huaxia all of a sudden?”

Even as a whisper, the sound still echoed in the quiet car. The faint smile on Min Chen’s lips slowly disappeared. After a moment, he sighed and turned to look at the ever-changing scenery outside the window.

When someone was weary, they want to go home and find something or someone to lean on.

Even if he didn’t grew up there. . .

Huaxia was his home, after all.